Enchantment Learning & Living Blog

Welcome to Enchantment Learning & Living, the inspirational space where I write about the simple pleasures, radical self-care, and everyday magic that make life delicious.

DIY Ironing Spray Starch

September 15, 2014

I will be the first to admit that ironing is not always on my list of priorities. As much as I love cleaning my house (and yes, I really *do* love it!), ironing is one of those things I always put off...so much so that I think I've only ever used my ironing board and iron maybe a dozen times in the past few years and only in dire need.

Cut to me with a pile of dresses--absolutely adorable dresses, mind you--that I wanted to wear but hadn't because (you guessed it) they need to be ironed. My default excuse was that I didn't have any starch to iron out all the wrinkles and smooth out the pleats of my clothes. Then one day I bit the bullet and commit to an afternoon of ironing so that I could finally wear those dresses. I even learned how to make my own spray starch so I wouldn't be tempted to put off my chore with my go-to excuse.

Now here I am with a closet full of well-ironed clothes and a new addiction blooming: ironing! Yes, it's true, I've fallen in love with the soothing routine and all because of making my own starch. It is a simple mixture of cornstarch and water, but there is something about mixing up a batch (way cheaper and eco-friendlier than anything you'll get in the store) and spraying it across my wrinkled dresses feels so right. Now I can't stop myself.

And you should try it too. All you need is a clean empty spray bottle and cornstarch, and you've got yourself a household miracle. If you want a heavier starch, use more cornstarch--less, use less. Use cold water here to keep cornstarch from clumping.

Ingredients:

Heaping tablespoon cornstarch

1 pint cold water

Add ingredients to an empty spray bottle and shake well until cornstarch dissolves. Store in fridge. Shake well before each use. Enjoy wrinkle free clothes!

Enchantment Learning & Living is an inspirational blog celebrating life’s simple pleasures, everyday mysticism, and delectable recipes that are guaranteed to stir the kitchen witch in you. If you enjoyed what you just read and believe that true magic is in the everyday, subscribe to my newsletter below for regular doses of enchantment. Want even more inspiration? Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter. Here’s to a magical life!

Heaven is a Weekend at Home

September 14, 2014

Time slows down.

You have no schedule, no place to be, no pressing plans. Just as you like it. You can let your imagination unfold as you tend your writing--those beautiful words and phrases you've been itching to polish during the week as other demands took you away from pen and paper. You can lose yourself in a good book--or two--and simply nourish your soul as you devour one story after another, filling up on words and tea in the comfort of your sanctuary.

Then there is the yoga. You get to let your body breathe and stretch into its fullest self, no longer confined by high heels or restrictive clothing (or, let's be honest, any clothing, if you so choose). It is in caramelizing apples for Saturday pancakes or making pasta from scratch for your Sunday dinner. That is the joy of being at home.

It is in disappearing from the outside world for two whole days and two whole nights. You retreat into your own world of dreams and stories that often feel more real to you than your waking world. You tend that inner landscape as you are safely sheltered in your sanctuary relishing the solitude that makes your healing and rejuvenation possible. Between crocheting on your couch and retiring to your patio to read, you decide that heaven, truly blissful, divine heaven, is in a weekend at home.

On the First Kiss of Autumn

September 13, 2014

Yesterday the wind whipped through your land, chasing out the heat of summer and bringing with it the first kiss of fall. The day had started out warm, hot almost, but slowly cooled as the wind pulled clouds down from the mountains and over the city. You had been out in the bluster long enough yesterday to feel the chill in your bones that only a bubble bath and cup of tea could cure.

This morning, the wind is gone and in its place is the heady aroma of autumn. You linger on your porch, enjoying the cool air and the gentle cloud cover. You inhale that almost undefinable smell synonymous with this time of year: crisp air tinged with the bright green of leaves and the dusky overripe scent of your garden about ready to curl in and retire for the year.

The weather promises a day of delicious slowness. Autumn is slowly snaking its fingers through the earth and your heart, pulling you inward, deeper into the quiet of the season.

This Lady Needs Some Pampering Spa Kit

September 12, 2014

Oh yes, you know it sounds so right to be thinking of some lovely spa time right around Friday afternoon. Sometimes a lady--or let's be honest, a gent--needs a little TLC and time to be pampered. When you have the energy, it can be fun to have a home spa day, but sometimes even that feels like too much work and all you want is a gentle routine to help you transition from work to play. So if you're looking for a way to kick off your weekend with a relaxing start, or just get some ideas for how to include a little more self-care during the week, check out my favorite end-of-the-week spa kit. (And yes, I look exactly like the woman pictured to the right when I take a bubble bath, jewels and perfect hair and all.)

1. Weekend Head Start Bubble Bath

2. Honey Face Mask

3. Hydrating Hair Mask

4. Lavender Foot Scrub

5. Women's Soothing Mint Tea

These recipes are made from simple ingredients found in your kitchen and pair well together for a total self-care experience. The hair mask and face mask are perfect to try while you linger in a hot bath--which you should do since my Weekend Head Start Bubble Bath actually detoxes your system. After time spent drinking tea in the bath while letting these potions and lotions do their work, you will feel radiant and rejuvenated. What bliss!

A Homebody's Love Letters to Her Home

September 11, 2014

This week has left me craving some home time; it's been a lot of out and about, a lot of this and that at work--all good stuff, mind you, but it has kept me away from my little hobbit hole for longer stretches than I would like. I found myself missing my home this week, eyeing my patio garden that needs a little TLC and gazing fondly at my couch, piled high with yarn for the baby blanket I haven't had the time to work on this week. This feeling has grown so much that I am beyond excited to be tucking in after tomorrow for a quiet weekend of crocheting, reading, puttering, and writing.

These thoughts and others made me realize how much I depend on my home, my sanctuary, to ground and replenish me after making my way in the world day to day. So I offer you three posts I've written about the love of home. Enjoy!

1. On Home

2. On Returning Home After a Long Journey

3. On Reasons I Love My Home

What do you love most about your home?

On Another Harvest Moon

September 9, 2014

You went moon gazing last night. You sat on the front lawn of your family home and simply gazed at this perfectly ripe orb, full of the promise of harvest, of cleansing and rebirth, of inward reflection. You watched as it grew more golden in the late-night sky, covered only by thin, stray clouds like frayed ribbons drifting over its upturned face.

You let its light wash over you, bathe you in the mythology of the moon, settle your mind and refresh your soul. And when you finally turned your gaze from that moon and made your way home, it was to dream deeply, letting its light filter through your window and into your dreamscape.

It has been almost a year since you have opened yourself to a better way of living, of dreaming, of being. A year since you began diligently working on doing less, on recovering from the addiction of busyness. A whole year since you learned to have time for the moon and embrace the bounty of its wisdom. Each month it waxes and wanes in its own time, its own pace. So you too continue to learn how to grow into the fullest expression of yourself and take the time you need to take to listen to who you are.

And who you are is a woman who bathes in the moonlight and cultivates the quiet essential to her well-being. The moon, as if to emphasize this realization, is there to greet you on your waking. It has watched over you as you dreamed through the night and is there looking over you again in the morning; heavy and golden in the sky as you make your way to work, only the two of you are awake in the city.

A Celebration of Kitchen Magic in 5 Flash Essays!

September 8, 2014

There is something almost ephemeral about the magic that is conjured over a simmering pot of beans or a shallow pan slowly melting butter for ghee. Somewhere between rinsing and sifting the beans and the hours they spend cooking on a hot stove--or the brief moments it takes for your melted butter to separate its contents--magic occurs. It is in the way tinkering in the kitchen can sooth us and in how we nourish ourselves not just by the food we make but how we make it. A pinch of this. A dash of that. Food is intention, a pure embodiment of how we chose to live, heal, nourish, love.

In many ways, the kitchen is also the most intimate space in our home; it reveals everything about us, from what we consider essential to our everyday life to how we connect with family and those we love. In honor of this kitchen magic that keeps pulling me back to my stove, a new recipe, or a fresh kettle of hot water, I present to you five musing on the wonder and healing energy of the kitchen:

1. Under the Influence of M.F. K. Fisher

2. On Baking

3. On Grocery Lists

4. On Cooking and Onion

5. On Cooking Dinner

What do you love most about the kitchen?

Peaches & Cream Overnight Porridge

September 7, 2014

Right now I'm trying to make the most of peaches as their season is slowly winding towards its end. Especially come September, much of the peaches you can find at the markets are ripe and juicy--in some cases, verging on overripe. Not to fear! These almost overripe jewels are perfect for this Peaches & Cream Overnight Porridge because their juices mingle with the yogurt and milk creating a decadent treat for your breakfast. The chia seeds and almond meal add an extra vitamin boost. Like my Tropical Breakfast Quinoa or my Tulsi-rose Breakfast Quinoa, this dish translates well into a breakfast mason jar meal. In fact, I often prepare this porridge by serving it up in my mason jars straight from the fridge.

What makes this dish so simple--easier even than my quinoa recipes--is that you simply stir all the ingredients together and let them sit overnight in your fridge. Then the next morning, you have a perfect jar of oats ready and waiting for you. I especially love this meal when I find myself strapped for time come Sunday and can't linger in the kitchen as I prepare my weekly breakfast and lunch.

Ingredients:

1 cup multi-grain oats

2 tablespoons chia seeds

2 tablespoons almond meal

2 tablespoons flax seed meal

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ginger

3 tablespoons maple syrup or honey

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup milk

1 cup Greek yogurt

4 peaches, chopped

Mix all dry ingredients together in a bowl and set aside. In a separate bowl, mix together all the wet ingredients until combined. Then begin to add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients slowly, until thoroughly mixed. Finally, stir in peach chunks. Divide mixture evenly between 4 mason jars and let sit overnight in fridge. Makes 4 servings. Enjoy!

On Peeling Chile

September 6, 2014

It is a yearly ritual, one that closes out summer and ushers in fall; it's as synonymous with your beloved New Mexico as red chile ristras and open turquoises skies: chile peeling. That art of gathering, roasting and then peeling giant sackfuls of your native fruit to store for the rest of the year. Every family has their own way; every family knows that their way is the best.

For you, chile peeling is always done on a series of Fridays, when you can devote a few hours to talking, drinking beer or tea--or tequila, and peeling, always peeling the hot, charred skin off the flesh of the roasted chiles and separating them into two bowls: the broken chiles for stews and salsas, and the unblemished whole peppers for rellenos (that dish perfect in the way it stuffs your chiles with cheese, smothers them in blue corn batter, and fries them up). The waiting-to-be-peeled chile sits in sacks, cooling on your kitchen counter.

Chile peeling. Your hands tingle from the heat of the peppers long after you've stored your last bag in the freezer. The pot of beans cooks on the stove top as you work, the promise of celebratory homemade tortillas and rellenos to feast on afterward. The cool splash of a micro-brew on your tongue, the taste of your homeland. It is a mediation and an art, flooding you with memories of working with your mother in this very kitchen peeling, planning, preparing a year's worth of chile, a year's worth of countless family dinners, a year's worth of new history laid into the grooves of your lives.

On Dressing for Yourself

September 4, 2014

To truly dress, you must dress for yourself.

Some say women dress for men. Others, for other women. Both are wrong. Those who do the former waste the pleasures of a perfectly flouncy skirt or nice underwear on an approving gaze--isn't their admiration of your ensemble a mere side effect of the unadulterated enjoyment you take in wearable art? Those who cater to the later lose the delicious expression of self in exchange for the paltry approval of current trends and conventional clothing found in shop windows. What a bore.

No, if a woman is to truly dress, she must dress for herself.

You must take pleasure in pairing turquoise stockings with your blazing yellow dress, despite the general consensus that too many colors are unrefined. You must cultivate your love of polka dots and retro heels--and jewelry stacked one on top of the other. Above all, you must ignore the fashion magazine that tells you that gray is the new black because you know full well that pink will always be the new black. You must wear your dress that makes you feel like a daisy, though not everyone likes flowers.

You wear it for you.

Yes, you must do all these things and more. For to waste your talents on dressing for others will leave you forever trying to love those stifling button up shirts and deny your passion for retro dresses. That road only leads to fashion misery and a slow fading of your spirit into the gray when you were once nothing but pink...until, of course, you can't take it anymore. Then comes an outburst of glitter and polka dots, once again your loud self. Dressing for others never does last.

For to truly dress, you must dress, always and forever, for yourself.

On Watching the Bees Collect Pollen

September 3, 2014

Today you find yourself thinking of the last time you had visited your mother's garden before the semester swept you up in its embrace. It was still early in the morning, with the air carrying the faint promise of autumn; there was a cool breeze made all the gentler from the previous night's rain. Fat dewdrops hung from the tips of grass blades like small crystals glittering in the morning light, wetting your feet and ankles.

Your soul was quiet despite the riot of activity around you. Everywhere her garden was bursting with life: the morning glories had turned their heads to the sun and the birds sang their daily aria as they gathered breakfast. The giant sunflowers were like sentries along the garden wall and walking paths and the branches of the apple tree were heavy with fruit. Even the voluptuous squash blossoms stretched open, languid and happy as the bees crawled along their insides.

The bees. You watched them, first in the squash blossoms and then making their way across flat sunflower heads, stuffing their sides full of pollen. For them, there was no time to waste, no time for coffee or conversation. No, they must bathe in the golden dust, gather up each grain for their hive, and fly off in search of more pollen in another flower. There too, as they gathered, they left the seeds of future blossoms behind.

For a long time, you simply watched and marveled at the bees' industry, their undivided focus on gathering, nourishing, pollinating. Now as you think back to that morning while brewing your first cup of tea at the office, you hold that memory close, a delicious reminder of the beauty in industry.

Tropical Breakfast Quinoa

September 2, 2014

The last time I talked about quinoa for breakfast was when I introduced you to my Rose-Tulsi Breakfast Quinoa in the spring. I love quinoa because it is so healthy for you and so versatile; I can apply any flavor to it and it works beautifully. Take, for instance, my new breakfast love, the tropical breakfast quinoa that features coconut milk and almond meal to give this grain extra richness and pineapple for a pop of color and sweetness. I finish it off with a dusting of coconut flakes. Best of all, this meal is easy to turn into a mason jar meal simply by layering the quinoa and the pineapple in a mason jar.

Ingredients:

2 cups water

1 cup quinoa

3 tablespoons honey (to taste)

4 tablespoons almond meal

1 can coconut milk

2 cups pineapple chunks, fresh or frozen

1/2 cup coconut flakes

Heat to cups of water in a pot until boiling. Add quinoa and cook on medium heat for approximately 15 minutes or until grains are soft. Remove from heat and stir in almond meal until combined. Then add honey and coconut milk, stirring until combined. Don't worry if the coconut milk doesn't completely absorb into the quinoa right away. You can serve this immediately by dividing it evenly between four bowls and topping it with pineapple chunks and coconut flakes. Or if you want to make a mason jar breakfast out of it, simply allow it to cool completely before dividing it evenly between 4 mason jars and topping it with your fruit and coconut flakes. Serves 4. Enjoy!

On the Last Long Weekend of Summer

September 1, 2014

It is summer's final gift, a last tribute to a season of grilling and late-night reading and lazy mornings drinking coffee on your patio. Pure heavenly indulgence before you get swept up in the tide of the semester.

The week before was busy--perhaps too busy--as you flitted from one errand to the next while diving into the first week of school and the inevitable joys and chaos that come with it. You are grateful for this last long weekend, then, to slow down, to turn inward, and to find your grounding once again. In the slowly unfolding hours of these three days, you take the time to be deliberate about your actions and those of the days to come, weeding out unnecessary busyness, silencing mindless chatter.

For you are always at your strongest, your happiest, when you can embrace your solid daily routine that is built on your thirst for tranquillity and stability, of blissful quiet and gentle awareness. And you found it again this weekend, in the birds singing on your patio as they feast on the seeds you put to for them; in the long afternoons spent reading; in the evenings in the kitchen playing with a new recipe. You found it the rich moments of your everyday life, that inner joy that you will continue to nourish and take with you into the coming weeks. You found it in the momentary pause from your regular labor, in your deliberate choice to not do much of anything this last long weekend of summer.

On Being an Amateur

August 31, 2014

You had simply wanted to take a dance class again, to feel the smooth wood floor under your feet as you spun and swayed to the beat. And then the pressure starts: to really understand dance, to get really good, you must give it your all, practice constantly, come to the studio. Every. Single. Day. All at once, you feel like the young girl who lost her taste for ballet; all you had wanted then, much like now, was to wear a pink tutu and your hair in a honey bun and twirl. You had no room for point shoes or competition with the older girls to prove who was the most serious, the most dedicated ballerina. Heaven forbid you get labeled as that atrocious specimen: the Amateur. But that is what you are and what you want to be when it comes to dance. When, you wonder, did it become impossible to simply twirl?

If you were to go down that road, you might as well give yourself over to becoming another yoga guru. There's a part of you that wants that, your ego, that is big and loud and wants to be the best at everything. You, too, can be another expert in advanced poses, traveling from one workshop or retreat to the next, perfecting the forever imperfect-able wisdom that is you and your mat. A lofty goal. But not yours. You are content with your sun salutations that greet each morning and the simple flow that closes out your work day. In all the many years you've been practicing yoga, they are enough to feed your mind, body, soul. And leave you time for other things.

Like simple crocheting, though you confess you once felt the pull to crochet sweaters and knit dresses. But you have no patience for reading those patterns that always try to rope you in with easy to follow steps! They are, in reality, much more complicated than you want to think about. You make your peace with this too, happy with your half-stitches and straight lines that somehow always end up making the blankets and scarves you want, although you were once told that real knitters use real stitches. There it was again: the pressure to be t he Expert. Instead, you satisfy yourself with crocheting and knitting just as you always did--with your Amateur hands looping together yarn into imperfect but passable blankets.

For you are an Expert in teaching and writing, forever honing and refining your craft. It is enough to work on that, enough to focus on these things. It is an art, too, to resist the demands of others to be an Expert in things which are not yours to perfect. An art to be a happy, exuberant Amateur in the things that give you pleasure, that let your mind breathe, and your soul fill up on the joyousness of life after a week of being an Expert. So you will twirl outside in the sunlight, just the grass beneath your feet--and you've even found your way back to the dance floor. You will do your yoga in the quiet of your own home, the twitter of birds your only soundtrack to enlightenment. You will crochet blankets out of half stitches and straight-ish lines. You will enjoy the beauty of being an imperfect Amateur.

On Burning Old Man Gloom

August 30, 2014

Zozobra.

Old Man Gloom. The giant effigy of darkness and despair that gets eaten up by flames once a year--when the sun begins to turn its light from this earth, and we descend into the depths of the inward-turning months--since 1926 they say.

But I know better. Though I've never been to the iconic burning in my homeland nor stuffed the gloom boxes scattered around Santa Fe with my burnable past, I know better. Yes, I know better. Each and every day I burn Old Man Gloom with my own fire, my own light that fuels me and cleanses my spirit from the shades and whispers of doubt that seek to make their home in me.

It is not enough to sit and wait and watch someone burn Old Man Gloom for you, for he can return at any time---and can, with your flame, be sent back to the ashes of his existence. This burning is a tribute to the fire we must keep within ourselves year round the better to chase away the daily dreads that seek to turn us from our path. To turn from the shadows that seduce us with their gloom like a cloudy blanket--comforting in how it keeps us in our familiar past. (Though move on we must, for some, it is easier to embrace the gloom than venture into the unknown.)

But not for me.

So goodbye, Old Man Gloom, today and every day. With my light, I banish you. With my light, I banish stagnate energies. With my light, I banish old-selves that no longer serve me. With my light, I banish the woe others cast my way. I let the flames of my soul burn them alive until they are nothing but ash and charred bits of history good for nothing but fuel for my cosmic compost.

On Finishing the First Week of School

August 29, 2014

You made it.

Your reward? A long bubble bath as you relish the fact that you get to sleep in tomorrow, that your work is done and locked away in your desk drawers for now, that you can replenish yourself in the comfort of your own home. A bubble bath with a glass of wine. Yes, that is a must--you made it through your first week after all. And a book, a for-fun-book. With glitter or dragons on the cover. Yes, you need something to keep your mind from moving to the week ahead, to future tasks to be accomplished, future lessons to be planned. For now, you must enjoy this one achievement: making it through your first week with only the inevitable mix-ups and little complications that a first week brings.

You made it.

You will allow yourself to let go of your teacher-self now that you are safely inside your sanctuary, pack away those school books and to-do lists, even take off those high heels and simply soak in your tub, wash away the week and let your mind turn towards the simple pleasures that make your life so rich. You are better at it now: the transitioning from teacher-you to just you-you, the quiet soul happy to spend the weekend reading and cooking and just being.

You made it.

You let this one little thought roll around your mind it as if it were a delectable treat you were savoring, trying to make the taste last before it melts on your tongue. You sink deeper into the bubbles in your bath, eventually letting even that one thought go. You feel only the hot water, the wine, the blissful quiet.

5 Ways to Make Self-Care a Priority for the New School Year

August 27, 2014

It's back to school time! With it comes buying shiny new pencils (and pencil skirts), doing homework assignments (or preparing lesson plans!) and filling those lunchboxes. Of course, this time of year also means that, in the midst of our hustle and bustle, our self-care routine can be derailed in favor of finishing off those papers that need grading or squeezing in one last meeting. And yet, self-care is such a fundamental part of our well-being and productivity. I mean, if we aren't taking good care of ourselves, then how can we best care for others? So let's skip the potential burnout of all-work-no-self-care and make self-care a priority this year, whether you are a teacher, student, administrator, or just someone who wants to retool your daily routine to better incorporate wellness.

1. Make your own lunch and breakfast. Cooking your own food is hands-down healthier for you. You can control the amount of salt and sugar in your meals and the portion size. Plus I find it is easier to stick to a healthy diet if I cook for myself. I especially love making mason jar meals during the semester so that I am greeted each morning and afternoon with delicious grab-n-go meals. I simply take an hour on Sunday so that I can have yummy meals all week long to take with me to work. Plus, it is so gratifying to reach for a tasty homemade lunch come noon--it's like a mid-day treat! Looking for a little inspiration? Check out my recipe index for mason jar meals, quick breakfasts and more.

2. Make exercise part of your routine. Come mid-semester, this can be hard when you are tired and feel like there is a lot on your plate. But I always think that if I have time to sit on the couch, I have time to exercise. The benefit of making exercise a part of your routine is that it helps you to unwind and take care of your body. Often when I find myself dragging my feet to my workout, I later finish my long walk or hot yoga feeling revived, refreshed, and all around transformed--and SO happy I made the extra effort to take care of myself! The times I've given into tiredness and just flopped, I've found I can't shake the tiredness, so can never completely recharge and relax. The best part of this is that if exercise is already part of your lifestyle now, it is easier to stick to it as part of your routine when your semester gets more hectic.

3. Honor your transitional moments between work and private life. It is important to begin and end each workday with something that is just for you; it helps you transition from home to work. Even your drive to and from work is like an everyday ritual that helps you get geared up for the day or decompress at the end of it. I also like to begin and end my work day with some yoga or exercise--these little rituals I've carved out for myself help me to transition out of teacher mode so I can enjoy my evenings (and weekends!) and recharge my batteries. If you aren't mindful of those transitional moments, it can be harder for you to shake off the work day and take care of yourself.

4. When you're working, really work. This may seem like it doesn't belong on this list, but part of self-care is in maximizing your work time so that you can maximize your down time. It can be easy to fritter away time and energy during your work day on unnecessary things only to then have to take work home to be prepared for the next day--or to stay awake at night thinking of what you didn't, but truly needed to, get done. So make it a goal to be as focused as possible during your work hours so that you're not working ALL hours.

5. Make your workspace an office sanctuary. My office is in a traditional cubicle setting. One thing I can never understand is how people can be productive while feeling hemmed in by three gray walls. I say push back the gray cube! Your workspace should be light and inspiring--a place you enjoy working in. Just as a home should be more than a place to put your stuff, a workspace should be as uplifting as it is practical. After all, work feels heavier when you are surrounded by gray drab walls, so take a little time to pepper your space with things you love and that inspire you. Working is an act of joy, so let that shine through. You'll be surprised how much it affects your mood and stress levels when you surround yourself with tranquil, peaceful things. Fight the gray, I say!

What ways do you work in self-care once school starts?

On the First Day of School

August 25, 2014

Although you have long outgrown the back-to-school supplies of Elmer's glue and as-yet-unopened boxes of Crayola crayons in favor of a new grade book and freshly sharpened pencils all in a row--the better to draft your lesson plans with--there is still a part of you that will always feel a little thrill up and down your spine at the thought of the first day of school. The perfectly planned outfit. The thoughtfully prepared lunch. The well-organized teacher's bag standing by the door, ready to be whisked away to your office. The goals to learn and teach and embrace this new school year with a vigor you certainly didn't feel by the end of last spring semester but that you are aware of now down to your very toes.

You wake before your alarm that first day. The birds aren't even quite up yet. You take advantage of that extra time to work on your self-care routine that you promise yourself you won't give up when the semester gets further underway and the papers begin to pile up. You relish your early morning yoga and the quiet excitement as the sun slowly rises. Then there is your coffee, your perfect cup of liquid energy--as if you needed it--enjoyed briefly on the patio before you turn to the task of readying yourself for school.

You don a dress with a smattering of polka dots, that celebratory print which always makes you feel special. You lace up your oxfords and slowly, one finger at a time, slide on your rings of amber and onyx, thinking about how you will greet your new classes and see old friends. You apply your makeup and, with that last swipe of mascara, feel ready to greet the new school year.

On Italian Apertivo at Home

August 23, 2014

One of my favorite customs while traveling in Italy last summer was the evening apertivo, the Italian equivalent of our happy hour usually held between the hours of 6pm-8pm, with dinner not starting until later that night (8 pm being super early for dinner there!). When I returned home from this trip, I found myself still lusting over their way of closing the day and enjoying a luxurious moment of pure enjoyment. So I decided to continue this lovely ritual on my own--one of the many things I took back from that trip. Now I find that there is no better way to enjoy that Italian lust for life and good food than to indulge in a little apertivo of my own at home.

Maybe I am romanticizing Italy (yes, yes I am), but the apertivo there is more than just throwing back a drink to unwind from the day or hitting the bar before you head home. It is more of a ritual, a transition from work to dinner. It is where people slow down and pause to close out the end of the day. There is a softness to it that a happy hour (at least in my experience) doesn't have.

Apertivo consists of a drink, like a spritz or other refreshing cocktail, and a few light snacks, ranging from simple potato chips and nuts to more elaborate treats like crostini.

Amazing apertivo at a small local restaurant in the Spanish Quarter of Naples featuring an assortment of fish, buffalo mozzarella, arugula, and bread.

An assortment of crostini at a magical restaurant in Florence!

I usually have apertivo on a Saturday, when I can really enjoy it. I make a cocktail and put together a few little nibbles to hold me over until dinner. The trick is to use what you have on hand already--olives, a good cheese, some sun dried tomatoes. It is about waking up the palette before dinner, not filling up on appetizers. It's also a great time to catch up with your loved ones. Nothing creates the fun weekend vibe like playing jazz records over a few easy treats and a special drink to ease into the evening festivities.

Here are a few ideas to get you started--and help you keep your fridge stocked:

1. Aged Gouda and preserved lemons. Both can be found at your local health food or gourmet store. The caramel of the Gouda balances nicely with the salty citrus pop of the quintessentially Italian lemon preserved in olive oil and salt.

A gin gimlet with, going clockwise, mixed olives, pickled veggies, aged gouda, and salt cured lemons--perfect for some patio apertivo!  The small apertivo plates are from an amazing ceramicist in a small town in the heart of Tuscany, called Cer… — A gin gimlet with, going clockwise, mixed olives, pickled veggies, aged gouda, and salt cured lemons--perfect for some patio apertivo! The small apertivo plates are from an amazing ceramicist in a small town in the heart of Tuscany, called Certaldo.

2. Olives. Use apertivo hour to try new olives beyond the Calamata or the cocktail olive. Lately, I've been in love with the green, buttery Castelvetrano olive and the fat avocado-like Luques olive.

3. Veggies. It's easy to use some of the perfect farmers' market produce as crudites to dip in some aioli or pesto as a quick apertivo. Or you could put out a little platter of pickled veggies. Like the preserved lemon, quick pickled veggies add a refreshing pop of flavor to pair with rich cheeses or an equally bright cocktail, like my lavender gin gimlet.

Aioli with cherry tomatoes, purple beans, radishes, and okra fries.

4. Fruits. If you want to dress up your fruit options, you can try my prosciutto wrapped apricots or pair them with a nice cheese like an easy homemade ricotta or cured meat. Of course, summer-ripe fruit is perfect on its own!

5. A good cocktail. The Italians are fond of sparkling wine-based cocktails, so you could whip up my limoncello spritz or, if you prefer a drink with the bubble but not the wine, try your hand at a gin & tonic or a gin fizz. You can also never go wrong with a nice glass of wine.

...the list of apertivo options can go on and on. The trick is to have fun experimenting with different treats and drinks that make your night extra special, turning it into a weekend ritual rather than just another evening. So the next time you want to elevate your evening meal or simply transition from work to play, consider starting your own apertivo hour with a good cocktail and a few treats scavenged from your fridge!

On Afternoon Midweek Movie Watching

August 20, 2014

It is the best time to watch a movie. While technically having less romance than a night at the theater and missing the coziness of a flick night at home, a weekday afternoon spent in a theater has its own kind of glamor and thrill.

First, you know you should be ironing out the details of your lesson plans or finally finishing off those tasks on your to-do list. But instead, you are one of the few people at the movies, enjoying the cool air and the faint whiff of popcorn. Second, you relish the fact that is really only you and a handful of other people in the large expanse of the theater, making it feel as if the whole movie is spun in its reel just for you. It was your sister who first taught you the glory of afternoon movie watching, of entering the dark cave to be told a story, to lose track of time and emerge into the late afternoon sunlight reborn, refreshed.

Your first afternoon mid-week movie happened years ago, on another late summer day just like this one. It was Mama Mia and there was only you and a little old lady who clapped furiously when the film was over. Then, too, you could have been gearing up for school but chose instead to indulge in the sanctity of story-telling, the comfort of being sucked into another world, another time even if (or especially because?) it was to an ABBA soundtrack.

Now you find it has been too long since you had the theater almost to yourself, too long since you forgot about regular schedules and simply enjoyed a luxurious afternoon at the movies. So you take in another film, Magic in the Moonlight, with your mother after an unexpectedly large glass of wine for lunch that served to leave you both pleasantly relaxed. Over the previews, you both giggle over the surprisingly accurate comments of the two elderly women in front of you: "That movie looks too heavy," "I'd see that," "Oh dear, who would want to watch that on Christmas day?"

For a little while, you are blissfully lost in a world of jazz and flapper girl style and the French countryside and a story that only serves to punctuate your belief that magic is in every corner of life--including an almost-empty movie theater in the middle of a hot summer weekday afternoon.